Accounting machine



Feb. y25, 1937.

ACCOUNT Filed July 1.9, 1955 f5; .Shee'LS--Shee Feb. 23, 193?.

ACCOUNT NG MACH I NE Filed July 19, 1955 Hi. (ttorneg Feb. 23, 1937. BREWUNG -CCOUNTING MACHINE Filed July 19, 1955 gam/ W L Sheets-Sheei 3 :inventor ttorneg Feb. 23, 1937. E. BREWMNG ACCOUNTING MACHINE Fileo. July 19, 1935 (ofrec/'0n Sheef 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Snventor www? Mi/M

s( Gttorneg Patented Feb. 23, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ACCOUNTING MACHINE pany, Dayton, Ohio, land a corporation of Mary- Applcation July 19, 1935, Serial No. 32,242 In Germany July 15, 1932 Claims.

The present invention relates to accounting machines of the type having setting means operable to cause the machine to register a series of associated entries, such as old balance, trans- 5 actions, new balance in different modes, either as normal entries or as supplementary or correction entries.

The main object of the invention consists in providing, in an accounting machine of this type,

a locking device which prevents, during some at least of the entries of the series, any readjustment of the setting means and can be released at the last or at some convenient preceding machine operation of the series.

Another object of the invention consists in providing a further locking device, which prevents the return of the mode of operation control member out of the position correction until the mode cf operation control member is automatically returned to the normal position after Ehe completion of the entire correction opera- A further object is to provide at least one amount key bank lockable by a lock, to prevent unauthorized persons from setting up complements of amounts for correcting false entries.

Further objects of the invention will be pointed out in the following detailed description with reference to the annexed drawings.

In the drawings is shown, as an example of the invention, an accounting machine for use by tax authorities, which serves for registering the tax payments, for accumulating the tax debit, and for computing the tax accounts.

Of said drawings:

Fig. l shows the key board of the machine,

Fig. 2 a side elevation of the mode of operation control mechanism,

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the balance lever and certain of the parts of the machine controlled thereby.

Fig. 4 is a section taken along the line IV-IV in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a section taken along the lines V-V in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 a side elevation of the special totalizer key bank,

Fig. '7 a front elevation of the special totalizer key bank with the machine casing being omitted,

Fig. 8 a tax card and Fig. 9 a correction card.

General description This invention can be applied with particular advantage to the registration of supplementary,

correction or carry-over entries. If for example when taking a balance, the old balance or the amount of a. transaction has been falsely entered, this false entry is cancelled on the vouchers and the entire entering operation is repeated with the correct values. The amounts entered during the operation involving the false entry are now present in the totalizers for the old balance, transactions and new balance as an excess and must be subtracted at the close of the calculation from the respective totals in these totalizers. To this end it is customary to print the false entry by repeating the latter on a special correction card, on which are printed all the false entries which occur during an accounting period. During the entry of such corrections on the card the mode of operation of the machine is so determined that the entries are not entered into any of the totalizers except the balance totalizer. The adjustment of the mode of operation control member to the mode of operation correction is conveniently made dependent upon the previous actuation of a locking member, key, bolt or the like, in order to prevent unauthorized setting of this mode of operation, and also the return of the mode of operation control member from the setting correction to the normal position at the end of a correction operation can conveniently be effected automatically so that the return to the normal mode of operation shall not be forgotten.

According to the invention, a locking device is provided which prevents the return of the mode of operation control member out of the position correction until the mode of operation control t member is automatically returned to the normal position after the completion of the entire correction operation, in the present example after the registration of the new balance. This insures that the whole supplemental entering operation must be completed.

In many cases it may be sufficient only to lock the control member against being set to another mode of operation during some of the machine operations of the series, for example when certain supplementary entries are being made on a machine which, for example, possesses only totalizers for the special transactions, but no grand totalizers for the old balance, the transactions and the new balance. Such supplementary entries take place, for example, when making an original entry, the account book is not available, and the record of the entry in the latter must be completed later on. Just as in the case of the above mentioned correction entries, in this case the amounts which have already been entered in the machine when the original entry was made must not be entered once again into the totalizers, except in the add and subtract totalizer, although the corresponding selecting keys are depressed. In this case also the mode of operation of the machine must be so controlled that the totalizers are not selected.

If, as indicated above, the machine possesses no grand totalizers, there is no question of an actuation of the totalizers during the last Inachine operaton, new balance, and it is no longer necessary to carry out this machine operation in this particular way with non selection of the totalizers. In this case the lock for the mode of operation lever can be released during the transaction machine operations unless for other reasons, e. g. printing of a particular sign, it is desired to complete the entire entering operation in the manner in which it is started.

According to the invention the removal of the amounts erroneously entered into the totalizers is eiected with the aid of the machine. Eitherto at the end of the day after resetting the totalizers the amounts of the false entries for old balance, transactions and new balance to be found on the correction card had to be subtracted manually from the corresponding totalizer totals. According to the invention however for each amount of a false entry the complementary value is entered additively in the corresponding totalizer, which gives the same effect as if the actual amount of the false entry had been subtracted from the total therein. To enter the complementary value it is necessary that the key board should have just as many amount columns as the totalizers. Consequently the totalizers do not possess any excess columns over and above the amount key board and it is possible that resetting or correcting of a totalizer total could be effected by unauthorized persons adding amounts which exceed the capacity of the machine. To prevent this there is provided a lock which, by use of Well known means, prevents unauthorized use of the highest amount column of the key board, i. e., the column corresponding to the amount digits of highest order, which are used for the entry of the complementary values.

The entry of the complementary values into the totalizers for old balance and transactions can be effected in the usual manner by using the corresponding totalizer keys. The totalizers NH and NS for the new balance constitute an exception because they are provided with blind keys Without heads. The removal of the erroneously added amounts can in this case be effected by entering during the correction operation the complements of the erroneous amounts of the old balance and of the change in balance simultaneously into the add and subtract totalizer, and transferring the total formed there to the new balance totalizer to be corrected. As this total is a complement of the error contained in the totalizer this transfer removes the error. In order to avoid simultaneous selection 0f the add and subtract totalzer after setting up on the keys the complements of the amounts to be subtracted the appropriate totalizer NH or NS must be selected by hand through the associated blind keys. According to the invention the actuation of these blind keys is effected by removable key heads which can only be brought into cooperation with the blind keys after a shutter has been opened by a person authorized to do so.

Detailed description The key board of the machine (Fig. 1) has ten rows of amount keys it and three rows of totalizer keys ii, i2, and i3. To each oi' these rows of totalizer keys is allotted a totalizer selecting lever, such as l, 2, or 3, which serves to select the appropriate totalizer of the row in question for total taking. In the motor key bank there are provided in addition to the usual motor key i idle key and a subtotal key it which must be depressed when it is desired to take an intermediate total from the balance mechanism. rEhe modes of operation, addition nd total taking, of the balance mechanism are elected in known manner by the balance lever 1. If the balance lever i is set to total taking and the key E@ is also depressed, the balance mechanism is not reset but read. The mode of operation of the remaining totalizers is determined by the mode of operation lever 5 which normally stands on addition and can be set according to the desired mode of operation to read, reset or correction, The control of the mode of operation could of course equally well be effected in the known manner by means or" keys instead of levers.

The three key banks containing the totalizer keys il, i2, I3 are of the same length as the amount key banks. In the special key banks, however, instead of the usual nine keys there are eleven keys three of which in the last row of keys are constructed as blind keys, i. e., without key heads. In the case of the remaining keys however the key heads are disposed alternately eccentrically to left and right of the key shaft so that with normal size of the key heads and in spite of the reduced distance between the key stems, the normal spacing of the key heads is maintained.

The taking of a balance is effected in the known way by entering the old balance of an account and then one or more transactions and then taking the new balance calculated in the balance mechanism .ny resetting the balance mechanism (Fig. 5, lines l, 2, and t). If during such an accounting operation either the old balance or a transaction is wrongly entered, an incorrect new balance will of course be obtained. The correction of this error is eifected as follows:-

The erroneous entry is cancelled on all the vouchers. (Fig. 8, line fi) and the correct entry is then set up (Fig. 8, line 5), the amount of the false entry is now contained as an excess in the associated totalizers and must be subtracted at the end of the day from the totals contained therein. In order to avoid forgetting any of the erroneous entries when striking a balance at the end of the day, each false entry is repeated in full and printed on a correction card (Fig. 9) as soon as it has been recognized as such. On this card are recorded all the false entries which occur during the course of a day. To eiect this repeating of an erroneous balancing operation, the mode of operation lever 5 must be set to the position correction whereby the mode of operation of the machine is so determined in known manner, not shown, that the entered amounts are only taken up in the balance mechanism but not in the totalizers. The adjustment of the mode of operation lever 5 from its normal position to the position correction is ordinarily prevented by a locking device. This locking effect can be removed by inserting a special key into the lock ed and then operating the key.

The mode of operation lever 5 is returned automatically from the position correction after completion of the correction entry by the machine drive in the following Well known manner which is shown in the British Patent Specification No. 393,256, filed by the Fried. Krupp Aktiengesellschaft On a shaft |00 (Figs. 2-5) which receives one revolution in a clockwise sense at each machine operation is fixed a hub |0| provided with a, nose |02. In the path of this nose lies a projection |03 of a lever ||4 which is pivoted on the shaft 38 and which is normally held by a spring |04 against a fixed stop |05. Shortly before the end of each machine operation the nose |02 engages the projection |03 and consequently rocks the lever ||4 in a counter-clockwise direction. This rocking movement is transferred by an intermediate roller |06 and a pitman 36 to a return lever ||2, which is loosely mounted on the shaft |00 and which abuts against the flattened pin |01 on the mode of operation lever and returns the latter in counter-clockwise direction to the normal adding position. The intermediate roller |06 is carried by an arm |08 which is rotatable but not slidable on the hub |09, which in turn is shiftable but not rotatable on the shaft I0. 'I'he arm |08 is held resiliently by a spring in the proper position, as shown in Fig. 2. The hub |09, which is shiftably mounted on the shaft I|0, carries a twin-pinion loosely but unshift-ably arranged thereon. The hub |09 has an arm 2|a carrying a headed pin 2lb embraced by the forked end of a lever 24 axially shiftable on the shaft 23. A rod I0 prevents the lever 24, and the arm 2|a and hub |09 associated therewith, from being rotated. The other end of the arm 24 carries a leader roller 25 engaging in a cam groove 26a of a cam drum 26. The drum 26 is loosely mounted on a shaft 21 and connected to the balance lever 4 by means of the link 28, so that the drum is rotated by the balance lever when the lever is moved. The cam groove 26a in the drum is so shaped that, by means of the leader roller 25, arm 24, arm 2|a, and hub |09, the twin pinion is moved into its right hand position, as shown in Fig. 4, if the balance lever is set to add; and is moved to the left upon setting of the balance lever to balance or total taking position. The mode of operation of the balance totalizer is controlled for addition or resetting in the well known manner as disclosed in the United States patent to Breitling, No. 2,052,444. The movement of the balance lever, through the cam drum 26, cam roller 25, arms 24 and 2|a, and hub |09, also shifts the arm |00 and roller |06 in such a way that the roller |06 is brought out of the path of the members ||4 and 36 when the balance lever 4 stands in its adding position, but is brought into engagement with these two members when the lever 4 is in its balance or total taking position. The balance position controls the taking of the new balance and consequently the above described return of the mode of operation lever 5 is only effected at the end of this machine operation. At all other machine operations the roller |06 is in ineffective position and the lever l I4 therefore completes its movement without taking the pitman 36 with it and effecting the return of the mode of operation lever 5. In order to prevent the mode of operation lever 5 being returned by hand out of its position correction before the taking of the new balance, the following mechanism is provided:-

To the pitman 36 of the return device (Fig. 2)

is linked a lever 31 which is pivoted on the shaft 38. Against the free arm of the lever 31 abuts, under the action of a spring (not shown) one arm of a bell-crank 39 which is pivoted on the shaft 40 and which is connected by a link 4| with a pawl 42. The paWl is pivoted on the shaft 38 and its nose lies in the path of a pin 43 fixed to the mode of operation lever 5. When the mode of operation lever is moved from its normal adding position to the correction position the pin 43 can move past the pawl 42, but return movement of the lever is impossible because if an attempt to return the lever is made the pin 43 yat once engages the nose of the pawl 42. The mode of operation lever 5 cannot therefore be returned by hand. Only on the automatic return of the pitman 36 to the right and consequent rocking of the lever 31 in a counter-clockwise direction, the pawl 42 is moved, by means of the bell crank 39 and the link 4|, out of the path of the pin 43, this taking place before the latter engages the nose of the pawl 42 on the automatic return of the mode of operation lever.

The amounts of the false entries which are contained as an excess in the totalizers must be subtracted from the associated totalizer totals withthe aid of the correction card. This is effected as mentioned above by additive entry of the complementary values into the appropriate totalizers. If, for example, a totalizer contains the total 137864,50 and includes an excess entry of 350.00 in consequence of an erroneous entry, then the complementary value 99999650,00 of the latter is entered. The accumulator total thus reads [l] G0l375l4,50, out the numeral in brack- A ets does not appear as there is no adding wheel for digits of this order.

In order to prevent the totalizer total from being diminished or reset by unauthorized per- Sons exceeding the capacity of the machine a lock 45 (Fig. l) is provided in the amount key board. This lock, through well known means, prevents the amount keys of highest denomination (i. e. those in the extreme left hand column) from being used by unauthorized persons, the key for the lock being in the possession only of the person authorized to correct false entries.

The entry of the complementary value in the totalizers for old balance and transactions can be effected at once by means of the appropriate special keys. This is not possible, however, when it is desired to correct the totals of the new credit and debit balances, the totalizers for which are normally selected by the blind keys NH and NS. In order to enable these blind keys to be actuated directly from outside the machine when effecting correction entries the following mechanism is provided:-

In the wall of the machine housing is provided an aperture 46 to correspond with each of the blind keys NH, NS (Fig. 6), through which aperture a removable key 41 can be inserted and depressed from outside. The apertures 46 are normally covered by a shutter 48 (Figs. 6 and 7) which can be moved to its open or closed position by a small finger-grip 50. The opening of the shutter is normally prevented owing to a locking projection 5| on the shutter 48, which is held locked by the bolt of a lock 52 and can only be released when this lock is opened. The key for this lock is also only in the possession of the person authorized to effect correction operations. After subtraction of the false entries the totalizers contain the correct total which can be determined in the usual Way by total taking.

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described, is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the invention to the embodiments herein disclosed, for it is susceptible of embodiment in various other forms all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed as new is:

1.'In an accounting machine for registering the new balance resulting from the entry of an old balance and subsequent transactions, a bal ance lever, a inode oi operation lever settable to a plurality of positions including a special correction position, means for automatically latehing the mode of operation lever when set to the correction position, normally inoperative means for releasing said latching means, nore mally operative but ineffective means for operating said releasing means, and means to render the operating means effective to operate the releasing means when the balance lever has been set to take a total.

2. In an accounting machine provided with setting members for controlling the mode of inachine operation, a retaining device for one of said members which is rendered effective by movement of that member into a predetermined position to prevent any readjustment of said member during a series of operations controlled by the other of said setting members, and until a predetermined operation of said series takes place under control of said other setting member, normally inoperative means for releasing said retaining device, normally operative but ineffective means for op erating said releasing means, and means controlled by said other setting member to render the operating means effective to operate the rcleasing means during said predetermined opera tion.

3. In an accounting machine for registering the new balance resulting from the entry of an old balance and subsequent transactions, a baln ance lever, a mode of operation lever settable to a special correction position, means for automatically latching the mode of operation lever When it is set to correction position, means for releasing the latching means for the mode of operation lever and positively shifting said mode or" operation lever from Said correction position, operating means operable upon each operation of the machine but ineective to operate the releasing and shitting means, and means controlled by the balance lever for rendering the operating means effective to operate the releasing and shifting means during the taking of a new balance.

Il. In an accounting machine, a balance lever, a mode of operation lever settable from a normal position to a plurality of positions including a correction position, means for automatically retaining the mode of operation lever in said correction position, means for positively returning the mode of operation lever from the correction position to its normal position and for releasing said retaining means, driving means for the returning and releasing means, and means for coupling the driving means to the returning and releasing means when the balance lever is set to take a balance.

5. In an accounting machine for registering a new balance resulting from the entry of an old balance and subsequent transactions, the combination of a balance lever settable to an adding position and a total taking position; a mode of operation lever settable from a normal position to a plurality of positions including a position to control a correction operation; means for automatically retaining the mode of operation lever in its correction position; means operable to restore the mode or operation lever from its correction position to its normal position; releasing means operable to render the retaining means ineffective; operating means for the releasing means and the restoring means; and a coupling device for coupling the releasing and restoring means to their operating means for operation thereby, said coupling device being moved to coupling position by the balance lever when it is moved from its adding to its total taking position.

ERNST BREITLING. 

